Mike_PM
Member
As an affiliate for over 10 years who now runs a network, I know how tough it can be in this industry. You constantly feel like you're running through quicksand. Things are so volatile that once you've got a good ROI going in a particular niche, in comes the competition to take that away from you overnight.
It's easy, particularly when affiliate marketing is not your main job, to give up at the first sign of trouble, "cutting your losses".
In actual fact, it's those who power through this who are the ones that succeed in this industry. Like most industries, it's a dog eat dog world and you constantly need to stay on top of things to survive.
Here are a few motivational tips I've picked up and put to good use over the years, because there were many times I felt like quitting:
1) Understand that you are likely to lose some money at first. Even the most promising campaigns with the highest payouts require you to gain some data insights before you turn your spend into profit. You will need to spend to gather data, then tweak things based on analysis of that data, and stick with it until you get into the black. This is especially true for both Google and Facebook.
2) Realise that Facebook and Google can both be unpredictable, and be ok with that. Don't be like a stock market trader who is up one minute and suicidal the next. Daily, even hourly, fluctuations in your commissions are standard in this industry. Do not let it affect your mental state. Do not get bogged down in day to day fluctuations - look at a campaign over a period of a few days, a week or a month. Then you can see things more rationally.
3) You will feel like you are failing at many points along this journey. Sometimes when I lost a big client I would get that horrible sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Everyone gets this, it's normal, it's one of the downsides of what we do but it's better than wasting your life in a boringly dull 9-5.
4) Develop a routine. You know that you don't HAVE to get out of bed until 11am, but that's a slippery slope to laziness, especially when things are going well. Do not rest on your laurels. When things are going well you have more time - this is when you should be working hard on your Plans B, C and D.
5) Don't get too stressed about your income - there are more important things in life and if you really can't make this work you can always get a normal job.
6) I heard a great quote "you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with". Keep connecting with other successful affiliates online, on forums like this one. They will keep you motivated and prevent loneliness which is another pitfall of affiliate marketing.
7) Internalise this quote: "the harder I work, the luckier I get". You generally get out of life what you are prepared to put in. If you are prepared to do the hard work, your chances of success increase dramatically.
8) Try not to focus too much on the goal, instead focus on the journey. Life is all about the journey and not the destination. Your day to day life as an affiliate, checking stats, negotiating payouts, adding ad sets etc - whether you do that from home, from a cafe, or from a beach in the Maldives - this is better than what 99% have to go through every day in their mundane jobs.
9) If you think you've exhausted all avenues of revenue, remember this: companies will always want leads. They always have, and they always will. The only thing that changes is the method of lead generation. Whether that's billboards, newspaper ads, banner ads, Google ads, mobile ads or pay per call - they all want leads, and if you can produce leads for them cheaper than they can, you will always survive in this industry.
Hope this helps some of you, any questions ask away...
It's easy, particularly when affiliate marketing is not your main job, to give up at the first sign of trouble, "cutting your losses".
In actual fact, it's those who power through this who are the ones that succeed in this industry. Like most industries, it's a dog eat dog world and you constantly need to stay on top of things to survive.
Here are a few motivational tips I've picked up and put to good use over the years, because there were many times I felt like quitting:
1) Understand that you are likely to lose some money at first. Even the most promising campaigns with the highest payouts require you to gain some data insights before you turn your spend into profit. You will need to spend to gather data, then tweak things based on analysis of that data, and stick with it until you get into the black. This is especially true for both Google and Facebook.
2) Realise that Facebook and Google can both be unpredictable, and be ok with that. Don't be like a stock market trader who is up one minute and suicidal the next. Daily, even hourly, fluctuations in your commissions are standard in this industry. Do not let it affect your mental state. Do not get bogged down in day to day fluctuations - look at a campaign over a period of a few days, a week or a month. Then you can see things more rationally.
3) You will feel like you are failing at many points along this journey. Sometimes when I lost a big client I would get that horrible sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Everyone gets this, it's normal, it's one of the downsides of what we do but it's better than wasting your life in a boringly dull 9-5.
4) Develop a routine. You know that you don't HAVE to get out of bed until 11am, but that's a slippery slope to laziness, especially when things are going well. Do not rest on your laurels. When things are going well you have more time - this is when you should be working hard on your Plans B, C and D.
5) Don't get too stressed about your income - there are more important things in life and if you really can't make this work you can always get a normal job.
6) I heard a great quote "you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with". Keep connecting with other successful affiliates online, on forums like this one. They will keep you motivated and prevent loneliness which is another pitfall of affiliate marketing.
7) Internalise this quote: "the harder I work, the luckier I get". You generally get out of life what you are prepared to put in. If you are prepared to do the hard work, your chances of success increase dramatically.
8) Try not to focus too much on the goal, instead focus on the journey. Life is all about the journey and not the destination. Your day to day life as an affiliate, checking stats, negotiating payouts, adding ad sets etc - whether you do that from home, from a cafe, or from a beach in the Maldives - this is better than what 99% have to go through every day in their mundane jobs.
9) If you think you've exhausted all avenues of revenue, remember this: companies will always want leads. They always have, and they always will. The only thing that changes is the method of lead generation. Whether that's billboards, newspaper ads, banner ads, Google ads, mobile ads or pay per call - they all want leads, and if you can produce leads for them cheaper than they can, you will always survive in this industry.
Hope this helps some of you, any questions ask away...
I tend to simplify every learning curve to focus, or concentration, and regularity. You can't master anything if you ignore these two simple things
